Wheel support hub unit, bearing ring member for wheel support hub unit, and method of manufacturing the same

ABSTRACT

A raceway member ( 6 ) of a wheel support hub unit, having wheel or vehicle body fixing portions ( 7 ) extending radially outward from a solid or hollow shaft portion, and a wheel or vehicle body positioning cylindrical portion ( 9 ) extending concentrically with the shaft portion, the fixing portion ( 7 ) being formed by the cold side extrusion so that the fixing portion is integral with the shaft portion ( 5 ).

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 11/239,314, filed Sep.30, 2005, which claims priority from Japanese Patent Application Nos.2004-335534, filed Nov. 19, 2004, and 2004-298585, filed Oct. 13, 2004,which applications are incorporated herein in their entirety byreference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a wheel support hub unit adapted tosupport rotatably a wheel of, for example, an automobile on a suspensionunit, a bearing ring member for a wheel support hub unit, and a methodof manufacturing the same.

A wheel of an automobile and the like is supported rotatably on a wheelsupport hub unit fixed to a suspension unit for a vehicle body. Thewheel support hub unit is provided with a plurality of rolling elementsinterposed between an inner member and an outer member, which haveraceway surfaces, the inner member and outer member being provided withfixing flanges to be fixed to the suspension unit for the wheel orvehicle body. A positioning unit adapted to position the wheel isprovided on a side of the fixing flanges.

When the inner member and outer member as bearing ring members aremanufactured, the surface area of the fixing flanges is large, and avery large forming load is needed in the cold forging process, so thatthe hot forging process is generally carried out. However, in the hotforging process, the dimensional accuracy is low, and a decarbonizationremoval operation is necessary in some cases in a thermal treatmentunit. Since a large cutting margin is necessary in a later process, themanufacturing cost increases.

Under the circumstances, a related art bearing ring member manufacturingmethod in which fixing flanges are cut and raised from an intermediateraw material formed by cold forging a cylindrical pipe as a basematerial with the portions left after the cutting and raising operationsused as positioning portions (refer to, for example, the Patent Document1), and a related art bearing ring member manufacturing method in whichpositioning portions are formed separately from the bearing ring memberand fixed to the bearing ring member (refer to, for example, to thePatent Document 2) are proposed.

A hub ring 6′ shown in FIG. 14 and an outer ring 3 shown in FIG. 15 areknown as a bearing ring member constituting the inner member and outermember in which consideration is given to the reduction of the weightthereof and the retention of the strength thereof. The hub ring 6′ isprovided with a solid shaft portion 5′ and radial wheel fixing flanges7′ extending in the direction crossing the shaft portion 5′ at rightangles thereof. In the wheel fixing flanges 7′, a plurality of fixingportions 21′ are formed to a large thickness, and, among the fixingportions 21′, web-shaped small-thickness portions 22′ are formed. Theouter ring 3 is provided with a hollow shaft portion 15, and asuspension unit fixing flanges 18 extending in the direction crossingthe shaft portion 15 at right angles thereto, the suspension unit fixingflanges 18 being made heteromorphous at an outer circumferential portionthereof.

These bearing ring members are made by related art methods as shown inFIG. 16, by forming small-thickness portions 22′ by expanding the excessparts among the fixing sections 21′ of the wheel fixing flanges 7′ by ahot forging operation, and then cutting off unnecessary parts 23 bysubjecting the small-thickness portions 22′ to a trimming process asshown in FIG. 17.

-   [Patent Document 1] JP-A-2003-25803-   [Patent Document 2] JP-A-2003-291604-   [Patent Document 3] JP-A-2004-74815

However, in the invention disclosed in the above Patent Publication 1, abending process is carried out when a joint portion between the fixingflanges, which need the highest strength, and the outer circumferentialportion of the bearing ring member is cut and raised, flaws, such ascracks being liable to occur, the strength of the joint portion becomingunstable. Moreover, since the joint portion has to be rendered easilybendable, it is impossible to reinforce this portion by, for example,increase the thickness thereof and the like. Since the positioningportion is not formed to a circumferentially continuous cylindricalshape, the positioning operation becomes unstable. The strength of thejoint portion is not sufficiently high, either.

In the patent disclosed in the above Patent Document 2 and thatdisclosed in the Patent Document 3, the positioning portion is formedseparately from the bearing ring member, so that the positional accuracyand a degree of right angle of the positioning portion and racewaysurface on the side of the bearing ring member is liable to lower.Moreover, the number of parts increases to cause the manufacturing costto be heightened. Furthermore, since a bearing ring member includingfixing flanges cannot be cold formed, a cutting margin in a later stepis large, so that the manufacturing cost increases.

The bearing ring members shown in FIGS. 14A and 14B and FIGS. 15A and15B are manufactured by the hot forging, the above-mentioned problemsare included. Such parts of the bearing ring members that are pressed toa small thickness extend greatly toward the outer circumferential sidethereof, so that the quantity of excess thickness becomes large to causethe yield to lower. Moreover, since the excess thickness is large, thesurface area of the upset portion increase, and the forming loadincreases. For these reasons, it becomes disadvantageous in particularto form such a heteromorphous flanges by the cold forging in which thestress becomes high.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is made so as to eliminate such inconveniences,and an object of the invention is to provide an inexpensive wheelsupport hub unit, a bearing ring member of the wheel support hub unit,and a method of manufacturing the same, capable of forming a positioningmember into a circumferentially continuous cylindrical integral member,and forming fixing flanges to small weight by the cold forging withoutcarrying out a process, such as a bending process.

These objects can be achieved by the following structures.

(1) A bearing ring member of a wheel support hub unit including:

wheel or vehicle body fixing portions extending radially outward from asolid or hollow shaft portion, and

a wheel or vehicle body positioning cylinder provided concentricallywith the shaft portion, wherein

the fixing portions are formed by the cold side extrusion so that thefixing portions are integral with the shaft portion.

(2) The wheel support hub unit including:

an inner member,

an outer member, and

a bearing unit having at least rolling elements between the inner memberand outer member, wherein

at least one of the inner member and outer member is identical with thebearing ring member defined in Claim 1.

(3) A method of manufacturing a bearing ring member of a wheel supporthub unit including wheel or vehicle body fixing portions extendingradially outward from a solid or hollow shaft portion, a wheel orvehicle body positioning cylinder provided concentrically with the shaftportion,

the method including the steps of:

a placing step for placing a raw material, which is formed to apredetermined shape in advance, for the shaft portion in a die havinggrooves extending radially outward,

a pressing step for pressing at normal temperature the parts of the rawmaterial for the shaft portion which correspond to one or both endsections of the shaft portion,

a flowing step for making the raw material for the shaft portion flow inthe grooves of the die,

so that the fixing portions with the shaft portion in one body by theside extrusion is formed.

(4) A method of manufacturing a bearing ring member of a wheel supporthub unit, including a solid or hollow shaft portion, wheel or vehiclebody fixing portions extending from the shaft portion in the radiallyoutward direction, and a wheel or vehicle body positioning cylindricalportion provided on the opposite side of the shaft portion with thefixing portions held therebetween, and concentrically with the shaftportion,

the method is carried out by a cold forging operation including:

an extrusion step for extrusion forming a solid or hollow shaft portionraw material into a head portion provided with a shape identical withthe shape of the inner circumference of the shaft portion andpositioning cylindrical portion, and

a upsetting step for forming the fixing portions by upsetting the headportion by using a die, which has a bore which corresponds to an outercircumference of the positioning cylindrical portion, with the height ofthe fixing portions left on the head portion.

(5) The method of manufacturing a bearing ring member of a wheel supporthub unit according to (4), further including:

a heteromorphous forming step for forming the head portion, which isformed to a heteromorphous outer circumferential shape having radialprojections the number of which is equal to the number of fixing holesmade in the fixing portions, by restraining the head portion by theheteromorphous die and upsetting the same after the extrusion step iscarried out, wherein

the upsetting step is carried out without restraining the outercircumference of the fixing portions with the height of the fixingportions left on the head portion, by using the die, to form the fixingportions having a heteromorphous outer circumference.

(6) The method of manufacturing a bearing ring member of a wheel supporthub unit according to (4), wherein

the extrusion step is carried out to form at the same time the headportion to a heteromorphous outer circumferential shape having radialprojections the number of which is equal to the number of the fixingholes provided in the fixing portions,

the upsetting step is carried out without restraining the outercircumference of the fixing portions with the height of the fixingportions left on the head portion, by using the die, to form the fixingportions having a heteromorphous outer circumference.

(7) The method of manufacturing a bearing ring member of the wheelsupport hub unit according to (5) or (6), further including:

a thinning step carried out after the upsetting step, for upsetting theparts of the fixing portions which are between the circumferentiallyadjacent radial projections to a smaller thickness.

(8) The bearing ring member of a wheel support hub unit manufactured byany of the methods defined in (4) to (7), wherein

the bearing ring member includes:

a solid or hollow shaft portion,

wheel or vehicle body fixing portions extending radially outward fromthe shaft portion, and

a wheel or vehicle body positioning cylindrical portion providedconcentrically with and on the opposite side of the shaft portion withthe fixing portions held therebetween.

(9) The wheel support hub unit including:

an inner member,

an outer member, and

a bearing portion provided between the inner member and outer member andhaving at least rolling elements, wherein

at least one member out of the inner member and outer member is thebearing ring member defined in (8).

According to the present invention, the fixing portions are formed withthe shaft portion in one body by the cold side extrusion. Therefore,even when the extrusion length, i.e. the area of the fixing portionsincreases, the forming load does not vary, and the forming operation canbe carried out with a small load as compared with the case where thefixing portions are compression formed. This enables the formingoperation to be carried out by using comparatively small equipment bythe cold forging, a cutting margin occurring in the later stage to bereduced, and the inexpensive bearing ring member and wheel support hubunit to be obtained. Furthermore, a joint portion between the fixingportions and an outer circumferential portion of the bearing ring memberis not subjected to a bending process, so that a sufficient thicknesscan be secured in the joint portion. This enables the bearing member andwheel support hub unit having a sufficient strength to be obtained.

Since the fixing portions are formed by the sideway extrusion, theextrusion remaining portion can be used as the positioning cylindricalportion. Therefore, the circumferentially continuous positioningcylindrical portions can be formed easily and highly accurately with theshaft portion in one body. When the positioning cylindrical portion isformed separately, a required fixing excess thickness becomesunnecessary, and a material yield in the condition in which thethickness of the required portion is secured can be improved. Thisenables the manufacturing cost to be reduced.

According to the present invention, the bearing ring member is formed bythe cold forging including a step of extrusion forming out of a solid orhollow shaft raw material a shaft portion and a head portion having ashape of an inner circumference of a positioning cylindrical object, anda upsetting step for forming fixing portion by upsetting the headportion with the height of the fixing portions kept thereon, by using adie provided with a bore the diameter of which corresponds to that of anouter circumference of the positioning cylindrical portion. Therefore,when the upset-forming of the fixing portions during which the highestprocessing load is imparted is done, the part of the positioningcylindrical portion which is on the inner side of the outercircumference thereof does not need to be compressed. This enables thefixing portions to be formed with a lower upsetting surface and lowerload as compared with those in the case where the material as a whole isupset.

Owing to these operations, the fixing portions can be formed by the coldforging using comparatively small equipment. Therefore, a cuttingprocessing margin used in a later process can be reduced, and aninexpensive bearing ring member and a wheel support hub unit can beobtained. Since a joint portion between the fixing portions and theouter circumferential portion of the bearing ring member is notsubjected to a bending process, a sufficient thickness of the jointportion can be secured, and a bearing ring member and a wheel supporthub unit which have a sufficient strength can be obtained.

Since the inner circumferential side portion of the raw material can beformed as a positioning cylindrical portion during the upsettingprocess, the circumferentially continuous positioning cylindricalportion can be formed so as to be integral with the shaft portionaccurately with ease. Moreover, when the positioning cylindrical portionis formed separately, the excess thickness needed for the fixingoperation in the above-described case becomes unnecessary, so that thematerial yield can be improved with the thickness of the necessaryportion secured. This enables the manufacturing cost to decrease.

The outer circumferential shape of the head portion not yet subjected tothe upsetting step is set to a heteromorphous shape, the surface area ofthe upset portion during a upsetting process decreases, so that theforming load can be held down to a low level. When the small thicknessportion only is upset, the outer circumference of the upset portion canbe reduced, so that the forming load can be reduced to a low level.Moreover, the quantity of the portion to, be trimmed of the outercircumference decreases, so that the yield can be improved.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing one example of a wheel support hubunit according to the present invention.

FIGS. 2A and 2B are drawings for describing the hub ring as a racewaymember of the wheel support hub unit, wherein FIG. 2A is a side viewthereof, and FIG. 2B a sectional view taken along the line II-II in FIG.2A.

FIG. 3 is a drawing for describing the outer ring as the raceway memberof the wheel support hub unit, wherein FIG. 3A is a side view thereof,and FIG. 3B a sectional view taken along the line III-III in FIG. 3A.

FIGS. 4A thru 4D are drawings for describing a process for manufacturingthe hub ring.

FIG. 5 is a drawing taken in the direction of an arrow V in FIG. 4D.

FIGS. 6A and 6B are sectional views for describing a sideway extrusionform for obtaining the hub ring.

FIGS. 7A thru 7C are drawings for describing a process for manufacturingthe outer ring.

FIG. 8 is a drawing taken in the direction of an arrow VIII in FIG. 7B.

FIGS. 9A and 9B are sectional views for describing a sideway extrusionform for obtaining the outer ring.

FIGS. 10A thru 10E are process drawings for describing the method ofmanufacturing the bearing ring member of the wheel support hub unit inthe second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a sectional view showing an example of a upsetting form.

FIGS. 12A thru 12F are process drawings for describing the method ofmanufacturing the bearing ring member of the wheel support hub unit inthe third embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 13A thru 13G are process drawings for describing the method ofmanufacturing the bearing ring member of the wheel support hub unit inthe forth embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 14A and 14B are drawings showing a bearing ring member havingsmall-thickness portions among the fixing flanges, wherein FIG. 14A is adrawing taken in the axial direction, and FIG. 14B a sectional viewtaken along the line VI-VI in FIG. 14A.

FIGS. 15A and 15B are drawings showing a bearing ring member havingheteromorphous fixing flanges, wherein FIG. 15A is a drawing taken inthe axial direction, and FIG. 15B a sectional view taken along the lineVII-VII in FIG. 15A.

FIGS. 16A and 16B are drawings for describing a related art method ofmanufacturing the bearing ring member shown in FIG. 14, wherein FIG. 16Ais a drawing taken in the axial direction, and FIG. 16B a sectional viewtaken along the line VIII-VIII in FIG. 16A.

FIGS. 17A and 17B are drawings showing the removing of an excessthickness portion of the fixing flanges of the bearing ring member ofFIG. 16 by a trimming process, wherein FIG. 17A is a drawing taken inthe axial direction, and FIG. 17B a sectional view taken along the lineIX-IX in FIG. 17A.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

An embodiment of the wheel support hub unit according to the presentinvention will now be described in detail with reference to thedrawings.

First Embodiment

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, a wheel support hub unit 1 is used as a drivenwheel, and provided with a bearing unit having a hub (inner member) 2,an outer ring (outer member) 3 as a bearing ring member, and a pluralityof rolling elements 4.

The hub 2 is provided with a hub wheel 6 including a solid shaft portion5 as a bearing ring member. The hub wheel 6 is provided at anoutboard-side end portion (outer end portion (left end portion inFIG. 1) in the widthwise direction of the vehicle in a vehicle combinedstate) of the outer circumferential surface thereof with wheel fixingflanges 7 constituting the fixing portions extending in the radiallyoutward direction which crosses the shaft portion 5 at right anglesthereto. The wheel fixing flanges 7 are provided on the outboard-sidesurface thereof with a plurality of studs 8 implanted therein atsubstantially equal intervals so as to fix a wheel, brake rotors and thelike thereto. Each of the wheel fixing flange 7 is provided with fixingholes 7 a, and formed so that the wheel fixing flanges 7 are notconnected together in the positions of the pitch circles of the wheelfixing holes 7 a. The hub wheel 6 is provided at the outboard side ofthe wheel fixing flanges 7, i.e., at the opposite side of the shaftportion 5 via the wheel fixing flanges 7 with a wheel positioningcylindrical portion 9 projecting concentrically with the shaft portion5.

The hub wheel 6 is provided at an inboard side end portion (inside endportion in the vehicle widthwise direction in a vehicle-combined state,i.e., at the right end portion in FIG. 1) with a small-diameter steppedportion 10, in which an inner race 11 is fitted. The inner race 11 isprovided on an outer circumferential side thereof with an inner racewaysurface 12, and on an outer circumferential side of an axiallyintermediate portion of the hub wheel 6 with an inner raceway surface13. A front end at the inboard side of the hub wheel 6 is formedcylindrically, and the cylindrical portion (portion to be calked) 14 iscalk-expanded radially outward. The inner race 11 is thereby calk-fixedto the hub wheel 6. The inner race 11 can be subjected to theapplication of necessary pre-pressurization by a nut (not shown)fastened to the inboard side end surface of the hub wheel 6 in additionto the calk-fixing techniques.

An outer race 3 is formed so as to include a hollow shaft portion 15.The inner circumferential side of the outer race 3 is provided with anouter raceway surface 16 opposed to the inner raceway surface 13 of thehub wheel 6, and an outer raceway surface 17 opposed to an inner racewaysurface 12 of the inner race 11. The end portion of the outer race 3which is away from the wheel fixing flange 7 is provided with aplurality of suspension unit fixing flanges 18, which constitute fixingportions extending in the direction crossing the shaft portion 15 atright angles thereto in a radially outward position. Each of thesuspension unit fixing flanges 18 is provided with a fixing hole 18 a,and formed so that these flanges are not connected to one another in apitch circle of these fixing holes 18 a of the suspension unit fixingflanges 18. The outer ring 3 is provided at the inboard side of thesuspension unit fixing flanges 18 thereof, i.e., the portion thereofwhich is on the opposite side of the shaft portion 15 via the suspensionfixing flange 18 with a vehicle body positioning cylindrical portion 19formed concentrically with the shaft portion 15.

A plurality of rolling elements 4 are arranged rollably in thecircumferential direction via retainers 20 between a plurality of rowsof inner raceway surfaces 12, 13 and a plurality of outer racewaysurfaces 16, 17.

In the illustrated example, balls are used as the rolling elements 4. Inthe case of a wheel support hub unit which has large weight, taperrollers are used sometimes as the rolling elements 4.

In order to combine the above-described wheel support hub unit 1 with anautomobile, the suspension unit fixing flanges 18 of the outer race 3are fixed to the suspension unit, and a brake rotor and a wheel aresecured to the wheel fixing flanges 7 of rotary ringside hub ring 6 viastuds 8 and nuts (not shown), etc.

This enables the wheel to be supported rotatably on the suspension unit.

In the hub wheel 6, the wheel fixing flanges 7 extending in the radialdirection which is at right angles to the shaft portion 5 are formed bythe cold side extrusion so that these flanges 7 are integral with theshaft portion 5, and the positioning cylindrical portion 9 formed of theextrusion remaining portion occurring during the forming operation isalso provided concentrically with the shaft portion 5 so that thecylindrical portion 9 is integral with the shaft portion 5. On the otherhand, in the outer ring 3, the suspension unit fixing flanges 18extending in the radial direction which is at right angles to the shaftportion 15 are formed by the cold side extrusion so that the suspensionunit fixing flanges 18 are integral with the shaft portion 15, and thepositioning cylindrical portion 19 formed by the extrusion remainingportion occurring during the forming operation is also providedconcentrically with the shaft portion 15 so that the cylindrical portion19 is integral with the shaft portion 15. The cold forging of the hubwheel 6 and outer race 3 will now be described.

FIGS. 4 to 6 show an example of a process for cold forging the hub ring6. First, a solid rod material 30 of FIG. 4A is subjected to the forwardextrusion forming to thereby form a shaft-like member 30 a of FIG. 4B. Ahead portion of the shaft-like member 30 a is then pressed by headingthe same to an outer diameter substantially equal to that ΦD of thepositioning cylindrical portion 9. As a result, a shaft portion element30 b shown in FIG. 4C is formed. This shaft portion element 30 b isfurther subjected to the side extrusion in the direction which is atright angles to the direction of the extrusion using a form 50 shown inFIG. 6. As a result, the hub ring 6 made integral of the wheel fixingflanges 7 and positioning cylindrical portion 9 is formed as shown inFIGS. 4D and 5. In this embodiment, a solid shaft portion element isused. When a hollow shaft portion material is used, a hub ring for thedriving wheel can be formed in the same manner.

FIG. 6 shows a form 50 used in a side extrusion process for producingthe hub ring 6, and FIG. 6A the same form in a raw material insertedstate, FIG. 6B showing the same form in a material forming state. Thisform 50 is provided with a lower die 52 into which an inboard side endsection of a shaft portion material 30 b is inserted, and an upper die51 urged toward the lower die by an elastic member 56. The upper die 51is provided with a bore 57 the diameter of which is substantially equalto the outer diameter ΦD of the positioning cylindrical portion 9, andthe outboard side end section (head section) of the shaft portion rawmaterial 30 b is provided in the bore 57. The part of the interior ofthe bore 57 which is on the upper side of the head section is providedwith a ring punch 55 and a punch 54 are so that these punches areslidable. The ring punch 55 and punch 54 are fixed to the upper form 58to which the upper die 51 is fixed via the elastic member 56. The radialgrooves 53 may be formed in the upper die 51 or the lower die 52 alone.

When the upper form 58 is then lowered, the punch 54 forms a recess inan upper surface of the head section of the shaft portion raw material30 b and compresses the same in the axial direction to cause an outercircumferential portion of the head section of the shaft portion rawmaterial 30 b to be extruded into the radial grooves in the direction(sideways) which is at right angles to the direction in which the punchadvances. The wheel fixing flanges 7 are thereby formed so as to beintegral with the shaft portion 5 with the extrusion remaining portionof the head section of ΦD which occurs during the forming operationbecoming the positioning cylindrical portion 9.

During this time, the forming load is imparted to only the inner surfaceof the head section, and does not have influence on the length (surfacearea). Therefore, when the length (surface area) of the wheel fixingflanges 7 is large, the flanges can be formed with a very small formingload as compared with that in the case where the wheel fixing flanges 7are compression formed.

An example of a step of cold forging the outer ring 3 will now bedescribed with reference to FIGS. 7 to 9. In this example, a hollowcylindrical shaft portion raw material 40 of FIG. 7A (this shaft portionraw material can be obtained by removing the bottom by the draw formingor by removing the bottom by the rearward extrusion forming, and thelike in addition to a seam welded pipe cutting method) is subjected tothe side extrusion using a form shown in FIG. 9, in the direction whichis at right angles to the pushing direction to thereby form an integralcombination of the suspension unit fixing flanges 18 and positioningcylindrical portion 19 as shown in FIGS. 7B and 8. A stepped portion 41opposed to the outer ring raceway surface 16 is then formed on the endportion inner surface on the outboard side as shown in FIG. 7C to formthe outer ring 3.

FIG. 9 shows a form 70 used for a side extrusion process for obtainingthe outer ring 3, wherein FIG. 9A shows a raw material inserting state,and FIG. 9B a forming state. This form 70 is provided with a lower die72 into which an end portion on the outboard side of a shaft portionelement 40 is inserted, and an upper die 71 adapted to be urged towardthe lower die 72 by an elastic member 76. The upper die 71 is providedwith a bore 77 the diameter of which is substantially equal to an outerdiameter ΦD0 of a positioning cylindrical portion 19, and an end portionof an inboard side of a shaft portion raw material 40 is placed in thebore 77. In the interior of the section of the bore 77 which is on theupper side of the end portion, a ring punch 75 and a punch 74 areprovided slidably, and these punches are fixed to the upper form 78 towhich the upper die 71 is secured via the elastic member 76. At a frontend portion of the punch 74, a mandrel 74 a the diameter of which issubstantially equal to an inner diameter ΦD1 of the shaft portion rawmaterial 40 is provided so as to restrain the cylindrical shaft portionraw material 40. Between the end surfaces of the upper die 71 and lowerdie 72, radial grooves extending in the radially outward direction areprovided. The radial grooves 73, may be formed in the upper die 71 aloneor in the lower die 72 alone.

When the upper form 78 is lowered, the punch 74 forms first a steppedportion 42, which is opposed to an outer ring raceway surface 17, on aninner surface of an end portion on the shaft portion raw material 40.The ring punch 75 then contacts the inboard side end surface of theshaft portion raw material 40 and compresses the same in the axialdirection (sideways). As a result, an outer circumferential portion ofthe shaft portion raw material 40 is extruded into the radial grooves 73in the direction (sideways) which is at right angles to the direction inwhich the punch advances, and a suspension unit fixing flanges 18 areformed in one body with the shaft portion 15, an extrusion remainingportion of the diameter ΦD0 occurring during the forming operationbecoming a positioning cylindrical portion 19.

During this time, the forming load is imparted to the ring-shapedportion only of ΦD0 to ΦD1 of the shaft portion raw material, is notinfluenced by the length (surface area) of the suspension unit fixingflanges 18. Therefore, the suspension unit fixing flanges 18 having alarge length (surface area) can be formed with an extremely smallforming load as compared with the forming load in the case where suchflanges 18 are compression formed. In order to carry out thefluidization of the raw material in a well-balanced manner in the radialgrooves 73, the lower die 72 may be made vertically movable just as theupper die 71, and may be urged toward the upper die 71 via an elasticmember (upper and lower die-floating structure).

Therefore, in this embodiment, the wheel fixing flanges 7 of the hubring 6 are formed with the solid shaft portion 5 in one body by the coldside extrusion, and the suspension unit fixing flanges 18 of the outerring 3 with the hollow shaft portion 15 in one body by the cold sideextrusion. Therefore, even when the extrusion length (surface area) ofthe wheel fixing flanges 7 and suspension unit fixing flanges 18 becomeslarge, the forming load does not vary owing to the features of theextrusion forming. This enables the wheel fixing flanges 7 andsuspension unit fixing flanges 18 to be formed with a low load by thecold forging using comparatively small equipment as compared with suchflanges 7, 18 fixing flange 7 and suspension unit fixing flanges 18compression formed.

The joint portion between the wheel fixing flanges 7 and the outercircumferential portion of the hub ring 6 and the joint portion betweenthe suspension unit fixing flanges 18 and outer circumferential portionof the outer ring 3 are not subjected to a bending process. Therefore, asufficient thickness of these joint portions can be secured, and the hubring 6 and outer ring 3 of a sufficiently large strength can beobtained.

Since the wheel fixing flanges 7 and suspension unit fixing flanges 18are sideway extrusion formed, the extrusion remaining portions can beused as the wheel positioning cylindrical portion 9 and vehicle bodypositioning cylindrical portion 19. This enables the circumferentiallycontinuous cylindrical positioning portions 9, 19 to be cold formed withthe shaft portions 5, 15 in one body easily with a high accuracy.Moreover, excess fixing portions, which are necessary when thesepositioning cylindrical portions 9, 19 are formed separately, becomeunnecessary, so that it becomes possible to improve the material yieldwith the thickness of the necessary portions secured, and thereby reducethe manufacturing cost.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment,and suitable modifications without departing from the gist of theinvention can be made.

In this embodiment, the raceway ring member for the wheel support hubunit for the inner ring rotating driven wheel is shown. The presentinvention may, of course, be applied to the wheel support hub units foran inner ring rotating driving wheel, an outer ring rotating drivenwheel, or an outer ring rotating driving wheel.

In this embodiment, a plurality of rows of rolling bearings, aroundwhich the outer ring 3 is fitted, are illustrated as the bearing portionthereof. The present invention may be applied to the raceway member of awheel support hub unit employing a plurality of rows of rolling bearingsthe inner rings of which are divided at substantially an axially centralportions thereof besides two rows of single-line angular ball bearingsand two rows of single-line conical rolling bearings instead of thebearings illustrated above.

Further, the bearing ring member of a wheel support hub unit, and amethod of manufacturing the same in each embodiment of the presentinvention will now be described in detail with reference to thedrawings.

Second Embodiment

The hub ring 106 for a driving wheel, which is a bearing ring member ofthe wheel support hub unit 101 will be taken as an example, and a methodof manufacturing the same will be described. First, as shown in FIG.10A, a hollow cylindrical shaft portion raw material 130 is subjected toforward extrusion forming to form a shaft portion member 130 a of FIG.10B. A head portion of the shaft portion member 130 a member is thenupset to form a shaft portion member 130 b shown in FIG. 10C. This shaftportion member 130 b is subjected to a head portion rearward extrusionforming to form a head portion 132 having a stepped recess 131 formingthe shapes of the inner circumferences of the shaft portion 105 andpositioning cylindrical portion 109. The head portion 132 is then upsetso that that the height of the wheel fixing flanges 107 remains by usingthe form 140 shown in FIG. 11, to form the wheel fixing flanges 107.

The form 140 is provided with a lower die 141 having an innercircumferential surface the diameter of which is substantially equal tothat of the outer circumferential surface of the shaft portion 105, anupper die 143 having a bore 142 the diameter of which corresponds tothat of an outer circumference D of the positioning cylindrical portion109, and a radial deformation preventing guide member 144 engaged withthe upper die 143 and engageable with the inner circumferential surfaceof the positioning cylindrical portion 109. When the head portion 132 isupset so as to have the height of the wheel fixing flanges 117 remain bythe upper die 143 with the shaft portion 105 of the wheel fixing flanges107 held by the lower die 141, the wheel fixing flanges 107 are formed.

In this form, the upper die 143 does not contact the part of thepositioning cylindrical portion 109 which has a diameter smaller thanthat of the outer circumference D of the positioning cylindrical portion109, and the outer part only of the positioning cylindrical portion 109is upset. During such a upsetting operation, the height H of the headportion does not vary, so that the positioning cylindrical portion 109is formed simultaneously with the wheel fixing flanges 107. Although theradial deformation preventing guide member 144 is fitted in the innercircumference of the recess 131 of the positioning cylindrical portion109, the end surface of the guide member 144 is not brought into contactwith a bottom surface of the positioning cylindrical portion 109.

The manufacturing method in this embodiment can also be applied when anouter ring and a hub ring for a driven wheel are manufactured.

Therefore, in this embodiment, a shaft portion 105 and a recess 131 areextrusion formed out of a hollow shaft portion raw material 130, and ahead portion 132 is thereafter upset with the height of the wheel fixingflange 107 left thereon, by using the upper die 143 having a bore 142the diameter of which corresponds to the outer circumference of thepositioning cylindrical portion 109. As a result, during theupset-forming of the wheel fixing flanges 107 in which the processingload is the highest, the part of the positioning cylindrical portion 109which is on the inner side of the outer circumference thereof is notnecessary to be compressed. Therefore, as compared with a case where thewheel fixing flanges 107 as a whole are upset, the surface area to beupset decreases, so that the wheel fixing flanges 107 can be formed witha low load.

This enables the wheel fixing flanges 107 to be formed by the coldforging by using comparatively small equipment, and a cutting marginused in a later step decreases, so that inexpensive hub ring 106 andwheel support hub unit 101 can be obtained. Since a joint portionbetween the wheel fixing flanges 107 and the outer circumferentialsection of the shaft portion 105 is not subjected to a bending process,a sufficient thickness can be secured in the joint portion, and the hubring 106 and wheel support hub unit 101 which have a sufficient strengthcan be obtained.

During the upsetting process, the inner circumferential side of theupper form 143 can be used to form the positioning cylindrical portion109. Therefore, the circumferentially continuous cylindrical positioningportion 109 can be formed with the shaft portion 105 in one body easilywith a high accuracy. Moreover, excess thickness for carrying out anecessary fixing operation becomes unnecessary when the positioningcylindrical portion 109 is formed separately, the material yield can beimproved with the thickness of a necessary portion secured. This enablesthe manufacturing cost to be reduced.

Third Embodiment

A method of manufacturing a bearing ring member of a wheel support hubunit in a third embodiment of the present invention will now bedescribed in detail with reference to FIG. 12 with the outer ring 103for the driving wheel shown in FIG. 1 serving as a bearing ring member.

As shown in FIG. 12A, a hollow cylindrical shaft portion raw material150 is subjected to the forward extrusion forming to form a shaftportion member 150 a having a head portion 152 provided with a recess151 forming an inner circumferential shape of a shaft portion 115 andpositioning cylindrical portion 119 of FIG. 12B. As shown in FIG. 12C, ahead portion 152 is then formed to a heteromorphous outercircumferential shape having radial projections 153 the number of whichis equal to that of fixing holes 118 a provided in a suspension unitfixing flanges 118. In the upsetting step of FIG. 12D, the head portion152 is then upset with the shaft portion 115 held in the lower die (notshown) and with the head portion 152 left at the height of thesuspension unit fixing flanges 118 without restraining an outercircumference, by using an upper die (not shown) having a bore thediameter of which corresponds to the outer circumference D of thepositioning cylindrical portion 119 to form the suspension unit fixingflanges 118.

In this embodiment, the head portion 152, i.e. an intermediate elementin the heteromorphous upsetting step is heteromorphous, so that thesuspension unit fixing flanges 118 upset in the upsetting step is alsoheteromorphous with the upsetting surface area becoming requiredminimum. Therefore, a forming load becomes low, and the height H of thehead portion 118 does not vary, so that the positioning cylindricalportion 119 is formed at the same time.

In a stepped portion forming step (thinning step) shown in FIG. 12E,interposed parts of circumferentially adjacent radial projections 142are upset to smaller thickness to cause unnecessary parts of thesuspension unit fixing flanges 118 to be formed as small thicknessportions 154. As shown in FIG. 12F, an excess thickness portion is thenremoved by trimming, and an outer ring 103 is thus manufactured. Sincethe upsetting operation in the stepped portion forming step is appliedto the small thickness portions 154, and the other portions are notcompressed, so that the forming load can be reduced.

The manufacturing method in this embodiment can also be applied when ahub ring for a driving wheel, and a hub ring for a driven wheel aremanufactured.

Accordingly, in this embodiment, the outer circumferential shape of thehead portion 152 having the radial projections 153 is set heteromorphousin the heteromorphous head portion forming step, so that the outercircumference of the suspension unit fixing flanges 118 not yet upsetcan beset heteromorphous. As a result, the surface area of the portionto be upset decreases during the upsetting process enable the formingload to be held down to a low level. In order to upset the smallthickness portions only of the suspension unit fixing flanges 118, theforming load can be held down to a low level since the outercircumference can be reduced after the circumference is upset. Moreover,since the quantity of trimming of the outer circumference decreases, theyield can be improved.

The other operation and effect are identical with the correspondingoperation and effect of the above-described second embodiment, so thatthe description thereof in the third embodiment will be omitted.

Forth Embodiment

A method of manufacturing a bearing ring member of a wheel support hubunit in a forth embodiment of the present invention will now bedescribed in detail with reference to FIG. 13 with a hub ring 106′ for adriven wheel shown in FIG. 14 taken as an example of a bearing ringmember.

First, a solid shaft portion raw material 160 shown in FIG. 13A issubjected to extrusion forming to form a shaft portion member 160 ashown in FIG. 13B. A head portion of the shaft portion member 160 a isthen upset to form a shaft portion member 160 b shown in FIG. 13C. Theshaft portion member 160 b is then subjected to ahead portion rearwardextrusion forming as shown in FIG. 13D, to form a recess 161 which is toform an inner circumferential shape of a shaft portion 105′ andpositioning cylindrical portion 109′. When an inner circumference of adie (not shown) is set heteromorphous at the same time, the head portion162 is formed as the outer circumference thereof is swelled to aheteromorphous shape. Thus, an outer circumferential shape having radialprojections 163 the number of which is equal to that of fixing holes 107a′ provided in wheel fixing flanges 107′ is formed. The head portion 162is then upset in accordance with a upsetting step of FIG. 13E with theheight H of the wheel fixing flanges 107 left on the head portion 162without restraining an outer circumference thereof with the shaftportion 105′ held in a lower die (not shown), by using an upper die (notshown) having a bore of a circumferential length corresponds to an outercircumference D of the positioning cylindrical portion 109′, and thewheel fixing flanges 107′ are thereby formed.

During this time, the wheel fixing flanges 107′ upset in the upsettingstep also becomes heteromorphous since the head portion of anintermediate material in the head portion rearward extrusion step has aheteromorphous shape. As a result, the upsetting surface area comes tobe at a required minimum level, so that a forming load becomes low.Since the height H does not vary, the positioning cylindrical portion109′ is formed at the same time.

In a stepped portion forming step (thinning step) shown in FIG. 13F, theportions among the circumferentially adjacent radial projections 163 areupset, and the thickness of unnecessary portions of the wheel fixingflanges 107′ is thereby set smaller. Excess thickness portions are thenremoved by carrying out a trimming process shown in FIG. 13G tomanufacture a hub ring 106′. The upsetting operation in the steppedportion forming step is applied to only the portions, which are to formsmaller thickness portions, and the other portions are not compressed,so that the forming load can be lowered. When the unnecessary excessthickness portions are trimmed off in the trimming step, wheel fixingflanges 107′ of different thickness and small thickness portions 122′are formed.

The manufacturing method in this embodiment can also be applied to caseswhere the outer ring and hub ring for a driving wheel are manufactured.

Therefore, in this embodiment, a head portion 162 having a shaft portion105′ and a recess 151 is formed in the head portion rearward extrusionstep, in which the outer circumferential shape of the head portion 162having radial projections 163 is at the same time set heteromorphous.The outer circumferential shape of the wheel fixing flanges 107′ not yetupset is thereby set heteromorphous, so that the surface area of thepart to be upset during a upsetting process decreases, a forming loadbeing thereby rendered able to be held down to a low level. During thethinning step for upsetting only the small thickness portions 122′ withrespect to the wheel fixing flanges 107′, the forming load can be helddown to a low level since the outer circumference of the same flangesupset can be reduced. Furthermore, since the quantity to be trimmed ofthe outer circumference decreases, the yield can be improved.

Concerning the other operation and effect of this embodiment areidentical with the corresponding operation and effect of the secondembodiment, so that giving a description thereof will be omitted.

The present invention is not limited to these embodiments, but can besuitably modified within the scope not departing from the gist of thepresent invention.

In these embodiments, a plurality of rows of rolling bearings around anend portion of the hub ring 106 for which the outer ring 103 is fittedare shown as examples of bearing portions. The present invention mayalso be suitably applied to a bearing ring member of a wheel support hubunit employing a plurality of rows of rolling bearings in which an innerring is divided into two at a substantially axially intermediate portionthereof in addition to a bearing ring member having two rows ofsingle-row angular ball bearings or two rows of single-row conicalrolling bearings instead of the rolling bearings shown as examples inthe embodiments.

In the embodiments of the present invention, a driving wheel member of awheel support hub unit for an inner ring rotating driving wheel, and adriving wheel member of a wheel support hub unit for an inner ringrotating driven wheel are shown as examples. The present invention may,of course, be applied to a bearing ring member of a wheel support hubunit for an outer ring rotating driven wheel or an outer ring rotatingdriving wheel.

FIG. 4

-   A1 . . . RAW MATERIAL-   A2 . . . FORWARD EXTRUSION-   A3 . . . HEADING-   A4 . . . SIDEWAY EXTRUSION

FIG. 7

-   A1 . . . RAW MATERIAL-   A2 . . . SIDEWAY EXTRUSION-   A3 . . . FORMATION OF STEPPED PORTIONS

FIG. 10

-   A1 . . . RAW MATERIAL-   A2 . . . FORWARD EXTRUSION-   A3 . . . UPSETTING OF A HEAD PORTION-   A4 . . . REARWARD EXTRUSION OF THE HEAD PORTION-   A5 . . . UPSETTING OF FIXING PORTIONS

FIG. 12

-   A1 . . . RAW MATERIAL-   A2 . . . FORWARD EXTRUSION-   A3 . . . HETEROMORPHOUS UPSETTING OF A HEAD PORTION-   A4 . . . UPSETTING OF FIXING PORTIONS-   A5 . . . FORMATION OF STEPPED PARTS ON THE FIXING PORTIONS-   A6 . . . TRIMMING

FIG. 13

-   A1 . . . RAW MATERIAL-   A2 . . . FORWARD EXTRUSION-   A3 . . . UPSETTING OF A HEAD PORTION-   A4 . . . REARWARD EXTRUSION OF THE HEAD PORTION-   A5 . . . UPSETTING OF FIXING PORTIONS-   A6 . . . FORMATION STEPPED PORTIONS ON THE FIXING PORTIONS-   A7 . . . TRIMMING

FIG. 16

-   A1 . . . HOT FORGING

FIG. 17

-   A1 . . . TRIMMING

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of manufacturing a bearing ring memberof a wheel support hub unit of an automobile including a plurality ofwheel or vehicle body fixing portions extending radially outward in aradiating shape from a solid or hollow shaft portion, and a wheel orvehicle body positioning cylinder provided concentrically with the shaftportion, each of the fixing portions provided with fixing holes andformed so that the fixing portions are not connected to one anotheralong a pitch circle of the fixing holes, the method comprising: placinga raw material, which is solid or hollow for forming the shaft portion,in a die having an axial portion and a plurality of independent groovesextending radially outward from the axial portion in a radiating shape,cold forging the raw material by compressing the raw material in theaxial portion of the die with an axial load in an axial direction of theaxial portion of the die such that a portion of the raw material flowsinto the grooves of the die to form the fixing portions unitarily andintegrally with the shaft portion by cold side extrusion, wherein thegrooves of the die and the fixing portions have at least two lateralwalls which are substantially parallel to each other.
 2. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein the portion of the raw material reaches aradial end of each of the grooves of the die after the shaft portion hasbeen formed.
 3. A method of manufacturing a bearing ring member of awheel support hub unit of an automobile, the bearing ring memberincluding a shaft portion, a plurality of independent fixing portionsextending radially outward from the shaft portion in a radiating shape,and a wheel or vehicle body positioning cylinder provided concentricallywith the shaft portion, the method comprising: placing a shaft portionelement in a die, the die having an axial portion and a plurality ofindependent grooves extending radially outward from the axial portion ina radiating shape, cold forging the shaft portion element by compressingthe shaft portion element in the axial portion of the die with an axialload in an axial direction of the axial portion of the die such that aportion of the shaft portion element flows into the grooves of the dieby cold side extrusion to form the fixing portions unitarily andintegrally with the shaft portion, such that each of the fixing portionshas substantially the same length in a radially extending direction. 4.The method according to claim 3, wherein each of the fixing portions hastwo lateral walls which are substantially parallel to each other.
 5. Themethod according to claim 3, wherein the portion of the shaft portionelement reaches a radial end of each of the grooves of the die after theshaft portion has been formed.
 6. The method according to claim 3,wherein each of the fixing portions has two axially facing surfacesextending radially outward in a flat manner from a proximal portion ofthe fixing portion to a distal end of the fixing portion.
 7. The methodaccording to claim 3, wherein the fixing portions are arrangedmirror-symmetrically with respect to at least two planes intersecting ata center axis of the shaft portion.